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Texans could receive full November SNAP benefits within days after the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday told states to send enrollees their complete payments for the month.
“State agencies must take immediate steps to ensure households receive their full November allotments promptly,” says the notice from the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, which administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. “The reduction in maximum allotments for November is no longer in effect.”
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission previously said it would take about three days for food benefits to reach Texans after the USDA issued guidance to states for distributing funds. When the federal agency ordered states last weekend to deliver partial SNAP benefits, the state got them to Texans in two days.
Shortly after FNS issued its latest directive, Texas HHSC said it was getting ready to distribute full payments.
“HHSC is actively preparing to deliver benefits to SNAP recipients as it awaits guidance from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service,” a spokesperson said in an email.
The latest guidance comes a day after President Trump signed a budget bill to reopen the federal government, ending the longest shutdown in the country’s history and the only time benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program have paused since the program was created in 1964. The bill funds SNAP through September 2026, while budgets for other programs will expire in January.
The shutdown began Oct. 1 and dragged on as Democrats initially refused to support a budget bill unless Republicans negotiated an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are set to expire at year’s end.
The USDA announced the SNAP benefits pause in October. All but 12 states stepped in to continue benefits for their SNAP beneficiaries. Texas was among the states that didn’t, and Gov. Greg Abbott drew criticism over his refusal to approve state funds.
Several court rulings ordered the Trump administration to tap emergency funds to support the program, and he finally agreed to use $4.65 billion to partially fund it.
Some Texans received up to 65% of their typical monthly payments starting Monday, while others received only $16 for two people or no money at all.
The move ends weeks of uncertainty about if and when 3.5 million Texans, 1.7 of them children, would get food assistance. Texas food banks reported long lines as SNAP enrollees and federal workers stretched their budgets and prepared for the delay to continue.
“This shutdown reminded us of a sobering reality: countless Texans are just one unexpected emergency or missed paycheck away from needing help — whether from a food bank or with assistance from the SNAP,” Feeding Texas CEO Celia Cole said in a Thursday statement. “It also reinforced an important truth: SNAP remains the nation’s largest and most effective anti-hunger program.”
Disclosure: Feeding Texas has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.